(Posted
8 a.m., Aug. 15)
Hornets
claim two titles at Gloucester Invitational Soccer Tournament
By Fred Sherwin
The Orleans Star
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Two
opposing players from Ottawa South United
and the Cumberland Cobras battle for the ball
during their U9 game in the Ottawa Gloucester
Soccer Festival at the Hornet's Nest on the
weekend. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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The
Ottawa Gloucester Soccer Club hosted its annual girls
tournament on the weekend and came away from the Hornets
Nest with a pair of titles in the U16 and U17/18 divisions.
They
almost made it three-for-three if not for a very hot Peterborough
City team which beat the Hornets U13 Regional team in
the U15 final. You read correctly, the U13 team made it
to the U15 final despite playing up two age groups which
is almost unheard of in tournament play.
The
U13 Hornets went 1-2-1 during round play, which included
a 0-0 draw against their U14 clubmates. The two teams
finished the round robin portion of the tournament with
identical records along with the Cumberland Cobras who
also had a win and two ties against only one loss, but
the U13 squad advanced to the final thanks to their having
the fewest goals against.
The
team is locked in a tight race for the East Region Soccer
League champ-ionship with the Glengarry Hearts and AS
Gatineau. The Hearts currently sit at the top of the table
with 28 points, while the Hornets are tied in second place
with Gatineau at 19 points each, however, they both have
three games in hand worth a potential nine points.
In
other Ottawa Gloucester tournament action, the Hornets
U15 Regional team played up an age group to win the U16
division with a perfect 4-0 record including a 1-0 win
over Victoriaville in the Sunday's final.
Julian
Larose scored the lone goal in the championship game for
the Hornets, which had beaten the same Victoriaville team
2-0 in the round robin to go along with wins over West
Ottawa (6-0) and the Russell Raiders (1-0).
The
U15 team currently sits in third place in the East Region
Soccer League standings, three points behind the second
place Kingston Clippers and 12 points behind Cumberland
United who so far have a perfect 11-0-0 record.
Not
wanting to be shown up by their younger clubmates, the
Hornets U17 Regional team also made short work of their
opponents over the weekend. They won four times and tied
once in claiming the U17/18 title over the U18 Cumberland
Cobras, who they easily beat 3-0 in the final on a pair
of goals by Kennedy Armstrong and an insurance marker
by Isabelle MacInnis.
The
U17 Hornets are currently tied with West Ottawa for first
place in the ERSL standings with 13 points each, but Ottawa
Gloucester has two games in hand.
One
of the special aspects of the Ottawa Gloucester tournament
is the Soccer Festival which allows U11, U10 and U9 teams
to play one another without the pressure of keeping track
of the score or playing for a title. The teams play nine
aside on the Hornet's Nest mini fields.
The
festival is the perfect preparation for tournament play
when the kids get older and gain more experience.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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